Police Dog Blues
by Lleira
Summary: Another AU I m afraid. Lisbon is a small town cop, Jane is a traveler - they are destined to met. There is a dog, too...and hopefully, a case. Sumary suck as usual. Just give it a go if you feel like it :) (Rating might change in upcoming chapters.)
1. Chapter 1

_I probably shouldn´t be writing another AU...Yet here I am :) I´m blaming it on an amazing song called Police Dog Blues. I was listening to it while walking down the street one evening, daydreaming as usual, and this idea popped into my mind. Anyone who gives it a chance, thank you and I hope you enjoy it :)_

* * *

Patrick Jane walked to his car, smiling with an ease. Another night, another win. Another casino lost a lot of cash and this particular action made his life a lot easier for the upcoming moths. Or weeks. He wasn´t sure yet. The night was crisp and cool, summer breeze was slowly transforming into fall one and Patrick jumped into his car, started the engine and went for a ride. Not having a faintest clue about his destination, he fiddled with the radio for a while trying to find his favorite station playing soft jazz.

He was a traveler through all his life. First, as a carnie kid, always spending time at different places, watching different faces, playing all sorts of cons with his father, it was all fun and games...until it wasn´t anymore. Now, being an adult, living his life still as a traveler, a certain memory was brought back into the hall of his enormous memory palace.

It all begun one day - a day that started as usually. By practice. And ended in disaster.

One day a dying girl came into his mobile house, and for the sheer desperation, her parents bought a dollar worth piece of bijouterie for ten grand. Since it was really just a piece of junk, she died a month later, despite being exposed to a magical "healing crystal". About a month later her parents came back. They wanted to return the crystal, thanking Patrick and his father for giving them another month with their daughter when doctors only gave her days.

"I...I can´t take it back!" Alexander Jane proclaimed, faking everything that could be faked so easily it made Patrick sick. The man got no compassion, no empathy, no conscience and no shame. The only thing his father had and gave a damn about was greed.

"Take it. So you can help others...like you helped us,"

"But, the money...I -"

"We don´t want the money back," the mother said and sniffled, "we want you to help others with the Crystal. I am truly grateful you gave us those days with her..." she spoke and then broke into painful sobs. Alexander Jane, a master conman, was near her in a second, offering her a napkin which she gladly took.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"It´s all right," he said.

"We should go," the father said and got up, his eyes red and misty. "Be well."

"Uh, before you go...there´s something I would like to talk to you about," Alexander said and Patrick knew nothing good will ever come out of it. His father gave him a warning look, it was just a glimpse, but Patrick could read his father better than anyone.

"Yes?" the desperate woman asked, still clutching the napkin in her shaking hands.

"My son...he could try to connect with your daughter. Try to communicate. He´s been having visions about her since the day you left."

Patrick´s brain froze. His whole body froze. This can´t be happening. One thing was doing a fake reading on a stage, he was not harming anyone, but this? How could he do this to parents who just lost their daughter?

"I can´t," he whispered.

"What?" All three of them asked in unison, all three of them asking for different reasons.

"And why is that, Patrick?" his father was first to ask, emphasizing his name in a well known manner. It could be loosely translated as you are in a big, biiig, trouble boy. His mind raced.

"I need the teddy bear," he whispered, hoping it would buy him some time.

"You could really do it? Talk with her?" the father asked this time, because his wife was lost for words. Patrick shifted uncomfortably, feeling sick to his stomach. "I need the teddy bear she had when you first came in here. It´s...a vessel. If you could...bring it, I might be able to," he lied, barely containing himself.

"We´ll bring it -"

"Tomorrow," Patrick whispered, trembling just for the effect. "The same time as today..., Dad can you give me a glass of water, please?"

Patrick shivered again, this time in his car. There were some aspects of being a Mentalist which weren´t so exclusive - it´s easy to remember if you can´t forget. But what if you want to? This particular memory was one from many he would like to banish from his memory palace, yet he couldn´t.

All of this happened a long time ago. He never get to fake a contact with that poor girl. He left that night. His father, happy beyond words, played poker all night long, and had no clue his under aged son had taken almost all of his stashed money and left without a word. Or an explanation.

Patrick hadn´t seen his father since.

It was not easy, being on his own from such an young age, however he managed. Fake ID was the first thing he obtained. Next thing was work. Without any proper education or skills, he ended up in dead end jobs but money were money. He saved all he could, and sometimes, when times were difficult, did a few readings, leached few marks, played few cons...anything to get by. Years came and went and he was always on the road.

Then, one day, he won a poker tournament with an ease -however, he didn´t won money.

He won a car.

Not just any car. A veteran. A legend

A blue Citroën DS.

A car worth a lot of cash. Truly a lot.

He kept it. Didn´t even though about selling it.

And he drives it till today. He drove it tonight letting the road chose his destination. There has to be another small town in a need for some magic. It´s been some time since he performed and the showman in him started to beg for attention.

Playing poker, visiting casinos on daily basis was fun but not as half as entertaining as having a crowd listening to your every word, cheering at you in the end, believing in you.

Yeah, some small town, where folks don´t have much to do, that´ll do it. He earned enough money for now. Time to have some fun.

* * *

Teresa Lisbon patrolled the streets at night again. Another night shift. She lost count on how many she had this month. She drove to the nearest gas station, in a desperate need of coffee. Her partner didn´t mind. Sitting in the passenger's seat, he panted heavily, the saliva dripping out of his mouth, making everything in its reach sticky and slobbery.

"Jesus, Rambler...I know it´s hot, but this is too much. Wait, let me get a towel."

Her partner growled. It was not an evil growl, it was just a growl. Perhaps if her partner wasn´t a dog, but a man, he would say it´s nothing, just let it be.

Lisbon reached for the backseat taking out a black towel used for such an occasions and wiped her partners mouth. This time he minded a little.

"Stop wriggling, you know it won´t help anybody," she muttered under her breath.

The dog remained silent. There was nothing more he could do than to endure this torture.

"There, all done. Now you wait like a good boy and maybe I will bring you a treat, what do you say?" she asked and patted the giant dog on his head. Some people might have said such a dog don´t belong in the car. Or that he shouldn´t be handled by such a petite woman. And he should have a nuzzle and a leash. Or it should be caged. They said it all the time.

Just not to Lisbon´s face. Nobody got the guts.

She went out of the parked car and let the door window rolled down. No one would dare to come near the car while Rambler guarded it.

"Good evening officer Lisbon," the man behind counter, Jack, said and smiled.

"Evening Jack, how it´s going?" she asked politely and took the steaming cup of coffee which Jack handed her. He always knew when Lisbon was coming and had the coffee ready for her before she even went through the door.

"Good, it´s calm night, I could use few shifts like these," he answered and took the bill Lisbon gave him with a smile."How´s Rambler?"

"Drooling all over my car," she replied, "please give me a sausage Jack, and keep the change."

Jack chuckled and handled her said sausage in a paper bag. "Pet him for me, will ya?"

"Will do, night Jack."

"Night officer Lisbon."

Lisbon went back to her car, carrying hot coffee and a greasy paper bag. Rambler was where she left him, guarding the car, slobbering some more. "All right, all right, out with you," she said and opened the door for him. The gigantic dog jumped out of the car and sat nicely by her side, giving her the puppy eyes treatment. It would have worked a lot more if Rambler didn´t look like the impersonation of the Hound of the Baskervilles. "There you go, a sausage from Jack, you like them don´t you?"

Rambler whined. Or at least he tried to. He took the sausage from her hands slowly, and carried it away, munching on it. Meanwhile Lisbon, leaning on her car, sipped on the black coffee with no sugar, no cream. She glanced at her watch. 2:37 AM.

Only three and half an hour to go.

She finished her coffee and let her partner to finish his business in the bushes. Luckily for her, it was just a small business.

"C´mon Rambler, time to go," she said and the dog was back in the car sooner than she finished her sentence. "Good boy, Rambler."

The night went out in its peaceful and quiet way - not a surprise in this God-forgotten town. Nothing ever happened in here, unless some young idiots thought that breaking and entering was fun. Or that stealing is a cool way of wasting their time. There weren´t any cases since she got in here. Nothing important. Sure, in some way, it was good. The lack of crime was in fact in favor for the town - not so much in favor for the cop who wanted to learn and to make a difference.

"At least we got to see the sunrise, huh?" she spoke but her partner probably couldn´t care less for sunrises . She sighed. Time to go back to the station and then to bed.

On the way back to the station, she spied something, or someone she never seen here before. A blue car, really weird looking one, overtook her. She nearly put on the sirens on and went after him when she realized her own speed was way below the limit. "Jeez," she whispered and gave the man driving the blue contraption an apologetic look just as he went by.

One look told her she definitely never seen this man before. She would sure have remembered him. He gave her a microsecond long smile and yet it was enough for a blush to form on her usually ashen face. Luckily, there was no way he could notice it.

Then, just a few seconds later, Rambler barked playfully and she snapped back into reality.

"We´re almost there buddy," she muttered under her breath and drove on cursing all those nightshifts she had to endure.

Lisbon left the "busy" station in her black Chevrolet Impala 69. Rambler was sitting at the passenger seat, drooling on her precious leather seats but she didn´t mind. It just wasn´t his fault, not in this weather.

"Here we are," she stated after a 15 minutes long drive and yawned. As a result, Rambler yawned too and Lisbon chuckled. She left the car, let Rambler out and finally dragged herself indoors.

Her place was tiny, and it was all she could afford. However it was hers and hers only and right now, it was the best damn place in the whole world. It had her bed in it. She fell on top of it, only kicking off her shoes, falling asleep almost immediately. Rambler followed her example, jumped into his own giant basket, made few circles and then settled down. He gave his master one loving look before his eyes closed too.

* * *

"Thank you very much," Patrick said to the boy who helped him carry his trunk up the stairs. The boy´s face lit up when he found himself being enriched by a twenty dollar bill.

"Thanks, sir!" he said and left grinning. Patrick couldn´t conceal his own smile. This was not the kind of place he used to stay in the past couple of years. Usually, the place got few more stars to its name. This...this was a small town. With apparently nothing happening around, ever, if the boy who helped him spoke the truth.

But the room was quite nice, he got everything he needed in there and to be honest, a bored little town was all he could hope for now. It´s going to be a piece of cake, bringing a little magic to the folks. He couldn´t wait.

Yet, there was a thing he needed to do before bringing his shinning smile outside.

Sleep.

And shower.

Probably not in that order.

He went to the bathroom humming one of his favorite melodies still smiling profoundly.

* * *

 ** _Abandoned warehouse , few days before Patrick Jane´s arrival_**

"I know how much you earn. I also know your wife just got another baby. And, my friend, I know you have been struggling. I am not your enemy. Right now I am your one and only true friend."

"Hold on a minute...you...you actually want me to -"

"Keep a secret. Nothing more. Give me and my associates some privacy...and of course, information, if needed. That is all I´m asking for. And as a reward, I am willing to cut you a deal."

One man stared at each other. One of them looked confident, the other one was sweating like crazy. Sweating and trembling.

"If they find out -"

"We´ll be discreet,"

"But...but, my career would be over."

"You´d be rich. I spoke to my...friends. We are willing to offer you 20% of every sale we make. That is pretty generous."

That was in fact generous. It was way more than he thought they would give him.

"20%?"

"For starters. It may go up. Or down. Everything depends on how well you handle this. So, what do you say my friend, do we have a deal?"

The man who trembled and sweated added a small nod to the mixture of his body signals.

"Great. We´ll be in touch. I´ll see you soon. And here," the second man, the confident one, handed the other man an envelope, "is something for your trouble," he said and smiled.

The first man took the envelope but waited until the confident man left before opening it. He weighted it in his hand at first. It felt heavy. With a racing heart, he ripped the paper just a little bit revealing a hundred dollar bills safely stacked inside.

"Well I´ll be damned," he whispered.

* * *

 ** _Lisbon´s bed, the present_**

Lisbon was soundly asleep, dreaming about a giant wet sponge washing over her face. She mumbled something unrecognizable and turned over in her sleep. The wet sponge disappeared in an instance, yet only for a few seconds. What the hell? she thought to herself before the smidgen of awaken brain cells told her that the wet, sticky thing on her face is not a sponge...

It´s a tongue.

"Raaambleeer..."she groaned before opening her eyes and despite the slight anger she felt, a smile appeared on her face. "Hi," she whispered and petted her best friend on his head. A playful bark was his response and Lisbon knew it was time to get up.

"All right, I´m up...I´m up, boy."

Minutes later, a wild looking Lisbon, who only managed to wash her face and comb her hair just slightly went out, accompanied by her giant, evil looking dog.

She was hungry. And tired. And about all, in a desperate need of shower. But there was something as a consistency she needed to follow - it was walkies time for Rambler, therefore anything else could and would wait. A park was the nearest destination she rarely visited even though it was the closest to her house. Too much people in there during the whole day. Today, she made an exception, letting the tiredness and hunger take over her good judgment. Rambler didn´t seem to mind and jumped eagerly by her side, never even thinking about running away from his master.

* * *

Patrick Jane spent several minutes watching people around him. First, know your audience. Then, and only then, start performing. His first admirer was a young, shy boy and his mom. He spied them watching other kids playing and deduced correctly that the young man needs some encouragement in making friends.

So Patrick Jane made a friend. And performed.

Few easy tricks for starters, adding a new one every time someone else stopped to watch his little park show, until he made people go "Ooohs" and "Aaaahs" and soon enough the crowd grew bigger and bigger. Kids watched him with eyes big as saucers, mommies smiled a happy relieved smiles, teenagers cheered and few of old couples nodded their heads every time a trick played well.

Yet Patrick felt that something wasn´t right. He knew it just like he knew a day will come after a night. Since the time he was a boy, there was this...sixth sense? Or seventh? He always knew when he failed to fool everyone in the room. Or, in this particular time, in the park. Someone was watching him. Just him. Not the magic he made, nor the tricks he did, but him.

Nothing good ever came out of that.

He surveyed the whole crowd as stealthily as he could, finding nothing and no one until his eyes fell on a figure standing at the back of the crowd.

A woman. Tiny one. With truthfully the biggest dog he ever saw in his whole life - even in his carnie life. She was dressed in black tank top and yoga pants, her hair was a bit of messy, a bit of curly and had a rich chestnut color. Her eyes were green as an emerald and full of suspicion. Her stance spoke volumes about who she was - a cop.

She wasn´t the head turning on the streets type of woman but something about her made him feel all warm on the inside. Something like that had never happened to Patrick before - not with any other woman, or a cop for that matter. It felt oddly tantalizing, even after she came closer and spoke those words, words which lead to problem almost every time he heard them - usually his problem.

"What´s going on in here?"

Few minutes and a lot of people later, Patrick Jane tried to explain his actions to the petite angry-looking officer who just had to show up walking her dog in the same park, at the same hour as him.

"I have not received, nor asked for any kind of compensation. I simply wanted to show the little tykes a few magic tricks, nothing more," he said and smiled, not even realizing how weird it sounded to her.

"Why?" she asked and gripped the dogs leash tighter.

"I am a magician, among other things. It´s what I do."

The woman eyed him suspiciously before speaking again.

"A magician performing for free in the park full of little boys...?"

Patrick rolled his eyes. This was more than amusing.

"And their mothers. And other people. In broad daylight. I´m sorry if I raised any kind of suspicion in you, officer...?"

Lisbon couldn´t keep a straight face even if she wanted to. "How...?"

"I have supernatural powers," he replied, smiling amusingly. "Patrick Jane," he added, extending his hand to meet hers. She hesitated only for a moment before taking his hand. "Teresa Lisbon," she said and the dog sitting by his side whined. "And this is Rambler, but no touching I´m afraid," she added when Jane´s hand almost went over the dog´s head until a loud growl made him stop.

"Oh," he said and quickly put his hand away. "Certainly."

"So...what is your business in this town Mr. Jane?"Lisbon asked knowing pretty damn well that this was the man she saw earlier today. The man who overtook her early in the morning.

"Are you always this curious about all the tourist visiting your town?" he replied still smiling and Lisbon cursed in her mind. To be honest, it was none of her business. For starters, she was off the duty right now and even if she wasn´t, he was not doing anything illegal. At least for now.

"I guess your answer is no, based on the expression on your face. To be honest, I usually get to know person a little better before asking about their business...I´ll advice you to do the same. Wish you a nice day officer Lisbon," he said and tipped an imaginary hat, "Rambler," he added and repeated his action towards the dog. "See you around, hopefully," he said again before leaving a wordless Lisbon alone in the park. She stood there for about a minute, thinking about how idiotic she behaved and blamed it on being sleep deprived for so long.

She and her best friend left the park minutes later, only one of them lost in their thoughts.

Rambler had just one thought right now - food.

Lisbon, not so much. Perhaps she should be on a look out for the mysterious Mr. Jane.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading :) And if I may add, try listening to the song too if you feel like it. I personally like a cover done by Hugh Laurie, it´s truly amazing._


	2. Chapter 2

A small town where nothing interesting ever happened just got something new and exciting - drugs. Their spread was slow at first, it took few days to research the customer demand but once it was done, sales went up smoothly. Nobody noticed, except those who noticed and those who noticed tried very, very hard for everybody else not to notice.

Especially the cops.

Luckily, the police force in this town is just so damn...adaptable. Money can´t bring you happiness, or so they say.

A man who barely had enough money left to pay his rent bought a lovely diamond necklace for his wife. His first born son had received a new phone he´d been bragging about for months. The man himself bought a new pair of running shoes, just for himself and gave them a good run.

He started to run after an recommendation from his psychologist - a psychologist he couldn´t visit for more than two months . If he had the money to pay for his hourly visit every week, he wouldn´t need a psychologist at all. Now, it seemed that all he needed was in fact that 20% cut.

He ran, smiling and feeling happy for the first time in months.

If money couldn´t buy you happiness...he wasn´t sure what else could.

* * *

What could buy Lisbon some happiness was sleeping in. Unfortunately, Rambler had another idea. He had been silently whining/growling for over twenty minutes and yet his master remained in bed. He could hear her groan, telling him to be quiet, however that wasn´t what he wanted.

It was morning finally. He had been a good boy through the whole night and now was time for his reward. The beach. He could feel it in his giant bones that weekend had finally come. That meant only one thing - swimming.

The best kid of swimming - in the ocean.

Having enough of this silent treatment, Rambler got up from his own bed and jumped on Lisbon´s. "Down boy," she muttered, still half asleep, hoping to get just a few more minutes of blissful slumber. Rambler cleverly ignored that order. He did something else entirely.

He jumped.

And licked.

He attacked.

Lisbon lived alone however her neighbors always knew when she got up on weekends. It was the same show every morning, changing only in the phrasing, and sometimes, in the loudness. The hour stayed the same.

 _A loud voice echoed through the open window._

"RAMBLEEER!"

 _Rambler barked loudly._

"Woof, woof!"

 _The same voice echoed again, this time a bit quieter, yet desperate._

"Get down! Ugh! Every freaking morning!"

 _Rambler barked again, even louder._

"Woof?"

 _Then the voice sounded one last time, filled with defeat._

"Yeah! All right, I´m up. Stop jumping around!"

Luckily, not one of her neighbors minded this weird alarm. It became a part of the morning routine for many people living near Lisbon´s house.

Twenty minutes later, Rambler barked again, this time from the outside.

"Quiet Rambler, people are sleeping...wish I could do the same," Lisbon muttered and unlocked her car. Rambler jumped right in, beaming with joy the only way a dog can beam.

An engine starting sound followed and Lisbon´s muscle car drove on.

The whole neighborhood went back to sleep, dreaming of this and that. It was 6:30 am after all.

* * *

Patrick Jane was never the kind of person who slept in. Sleep usually didn´t come easily and once it did, just a small disturbance could make it disappear in instance. This morning was not an exception. Someone was driving around on an awfully loud car at 6:30 in the morning. It proved only one point - morons exist everywhere.

"Great," he muttered to himself all awake now. There was no point in trying to get back to sleep. Time to make some tea.

And maybe to take a swim. It´s been so long since he swam in the ocean. There is this little beach nearby, as the internet searches told him, alongside with the nice young receptionist who seemed to be interested in going there with him.

Patrick smiled at the memory. He still got it. Nevertheless it was nice to be noticed, she was way too young for him.

Someone else popped into his mind - the green eyed cop full of suspicion. That was new. Interesting. People rarely felt any kind of suspicion towards him, his charm could lie as effectively as he could. It would be nice to meet her again and that dog of hers, though she was not Patrick´s type. Or maybe she was. Maybe he just didn´t realize it up until now.

* * *

Lisbon got out of the car, still irritated yet only until Rambler jumped out of the car and started running playfully. He barked, chased birds and sniffed freely, while Lisbon smiled, enjoying the show in front of her. Sure, sleeping in was good but not as good as this - this was worth every minute lying in bed.

When she got Rambler, all he did was lying around and biting anyone who came near him. She had no idea how to take care of a such a troubled dog and look at him now. Look at both of them. On some days Lisbon wasn´t sure if she saved him, or he saved her. Perhaps they saved each other.

"Hey, Rambler! Wanna play some fetch?" she asked her best friend and the response she got was a clean sign that Rambler in fact wanted to play fetch more than anything in the world.

"Good boy! Go get it!"

And he did get it, and then again, and again, until Lisbon´s hand started to hurt from all the ball throwing and playtime was over, at least for now. She sent Rambler to take a swim, which made him just as ecstatic as the ball throwing. She watched him run along the water line, chasing waves and wished to be as half as good of a swimmer as her dog was.

She could swim, just not in the ocean. A calm pool where she could always reach the bottom was one thing The ocean? That´s a different story. Waves, tides, fish, giant fish, unidentified fish, sharks, sea urchins, it all made her a bit uneasy just by thinking about it.

So instead of swimming, she picked up another exercise - running. She stretched a bit before going for a run, trying to wake her sleeping muscles up.

Rambler would join her soon, all wet and his fur will be full of sand and she will curse later on, because the fur and sand would be all over her car, but right now, she just enjoyed the present.

Rambler jumped into the water and swam, just because he could. Water might be cold and dangerous but no to him. As far as he was concerned, he was the danger and the cold never bothered him much. He swam further into the ocean, keeping an eye on his beloved master. She was running. That´s only a half of fun compared to swimming if somebody asked him, but since he was a dog, nobody asked.

He was just about to swam back to the shore when a distressed voice found a way to his ears. He didn´t understand those words, but he understood the tone.

"Heeelp!" someone yelled. Someone not far away from him.

He barked.

Lisbon heard his bark and stopped running. She turned her head toward the sea. There, in the distance, her dog swam in circles and a hand appeared above the water level from time to time.

"Oh, hell no..." she whispered.

* * *

Patrick was taken under the water one more time, already feeling breathless. To think that he was screwed was an understatement. Underestimating water currents might lead to problems like this. He was usually a great swimmer, however this time, the ocean was just better at drowning him than he was at swimming.

He desperately tried to get over the water level one more time, his lungs hurt from the lack of oxygen. He managed to do that only to be pushed back again by a giant wave crashing over him once again.

Suddenly, his whole life flashed in front of his eyes and it made him realize it was not a happy one. There was so much he wanted to see, so much he wanted to do before...well, before this.

Resignation filled his whole mind and body as he sank deeper and deeper...

And then someone, or something, he wasn´t sure which, pulled him up. His mind was hazy, his eyes burned from the salty water and he tried to get as much oxygen as he could once he was above the water level, yet it was not enough. His vision went black and that was the last thing he remembered.

* * *

Lisbon, terrified of the ocean, jumped right in, ignoring the bites cold water gave her. She swam, battled with waves, her eyes focused on the tiny black dot which was her dog. Reaching him in a record time, she dived in, knowing somewhere down there is a person drowning. Luckily for both of them the person was not too deep and she was able to reach his arm and pulled him up.

Another wave came crashing around them and Lisbon´s grip tightened on the man with golden curls. Jane. She remembered his last name - it was easy to remember a man named Jane. His first name remained a mystery as it was not important at the time, at all.

"Rambler!" she yelled, holding half conscious Jane, trying to not to drown while saving a person from drowning. The dog came to her rescue and Lisbon grabbed him around his back with her free hand.

"Go boy, swim!" she ordered and Rambler did as she told, as usual. Being a big and strong dog, he had no problem with pulling two people into the safety. To him, it was kind of fun.

When they finally reached the shore, Lisbon pulled unconscious Mr. Jane out of the water and lied him down on the sand. She checked his pulse with shaking hands, finding one. She checked his mouth, too just in case something got in.

Nothing was there.

"Jane!" she yelled, "JANE!"

Rambler, running around, barked to add to the effect. His master yelled, he shall too.

Patrick opened his eyes all of sudden, blinking slowly and breathing hard. The first thing he saw was a pair of green eyes filled with concern. The second thing he saw was a wet sport bra. Both were very lovely images.

"It´s okay, you´re fine," the green-eyed woman in a sport bra said and he tried to get up. "Don´t get up, stay still. I´m going to call an ambulance -"

"No..." he groaned, "I´m fine." Not an ambulance, he thought. Anything but the ambulance.

"Like hell you are, you nearly drowned," she replied angrily and got up in hurry.

"Teresa!" he yipped, making her turn around and face him.

"What?"

"I know your name," he replied quietly and smiled. "Teresa Lisbon, and Rambler, the no-touchy dog. I met you yesterday. In the park."

"Yeah, so?"

"My memory works fine - no brain damage then, therefore I don´t need an ambulance -"

"Right, but you´re still getting one," she said and went away leaving him alone in the sand. Feeling very grateful and very irritated at the same time, Patrick tried to get up when a loud growl stopped him. Worriedly, he looked up, and saw another pair of eyes ,and more importantly, a set of teeth.

"Oh, hey Rambler. Guess I should lie down, huh?" he asked with a smile and did what he had to do. Soon, Lisbon returned, wearing a mask full of concern. "The medics will be here shortly, don´t worry, stay calm," she said and sat down. Rambler did the same.

"You saved my life," Jane said and closed his eyes, "Thank you, Teresa."

* * *

Lisbon watched the ambulance drove off with Rambler by her side. What an "amazing" start to a day, for all three of them, she thought.

"Let´s go home, hm?" She asked Rambler mind-absently and walked to her car. Rambler, still wet and dirty followed her wagging his tail.

When she finally got home, nausea hit her and she had to take a few steadying breaths before exiting the car. This morning didn´t plan out the way she´d imagined. It was not the first time she had to pull someone out of water, yet, this time, the outcome was different. It stirred a lot of memories...not the good type of memories. Rambler, sensing her discomfort, stayed by her side and didn´t even put up a fight when she ordered him to jump into bathtub. She washed him, brushed him and drained him the best way she could. Then and only then, Rambler was set free. He used his freedom by being his master´s shadow. He followed Lisbon outside, knowing it´s time to clean the car. She always did that after a trip to the beach and Rambler was oblivious to why.

Humans are strange, he thought, before lying down in a perfect spot - not in the direct sunlight and totally in Lisbon´s way.

The car cleaning took some time, as it usually did. Satisfied with her work, Lisbon finally stepped inside her little home, ready to take a bath. It was indeed needed after the day she had. Her car was fur and sand free but she sure wasn´t - she even pulled some dog fur out of her mouth. Just as she stepped into her little house, ready for that hot bath, her phone rang.

"Crap..."she muttered.

She picked it up, hoping it would be just the work. Maybe some interesting case came up and she was needed at the station. That would be quite desirable but it wasn´t the case. It was the hospital calling. Apparently, Mr. Jane wanted to talk to her. He was so persistent on his wish to speak to his savior that the hospital granted it.

"Yes, this is Lisbon. I know. He´s all right then? I´m glad to hear that. Sure, put him on," she said tiredly. This day was starting to get on her nerves.

 _"Officer Lisbon?"_

"Yeah?"

 _"This is Patrick Jane - the man you saved earlier today. I was wondering if I could trouble you for one more favor?"_

"Sure?" she said worriedly. If he´s going to be all emotional it will make her super uncomfortable.

 _"Well, I am at the lovely hospital in your lovely little town and they are about to discharge me...The problem is I only have my swimsuit to wear. My clothes and my car stayed at the beach...I was wondering if you could-?_

"Bring it to you?"

 _"Yes. Just the clothes - they are under the car, so are my shoes . And then you could perhaps drove me back to the car? If it is convenient for you, of course. I´d hate to leave it there all alone, and I don´t know anyone in this town besides you and your trusty dog -"_

"Sure," she said ,before he could finish his sentence, defeated. "I´ll be there in about an hour."

 _"Thank you, Teresa,"_

"It´s Officer Lisbon," she corrected him," Or just Lisbon."

 _"Fair enough, thank you officer Lisbon, I will never forget your generosity."_

"Fine," she said, smiling a little. "See you in an hour," she added and hung up. Slowly, Lisbon turned around and went to take a quick shower instead of a long bath.

The day just kept getting better and better.

* * *

Patrick Jane counted minutes, hoping that the woman who saved his life today would hurry up and save him once more. There were a lots of things that repulsed him - things he hated, and hospitals were listed in the top five in his list alongside with guns, violence and general stupidity.

So far, a nurse and a young doctor checked him up, saying there is nothing wrong with him which he knew even without their fancy medical degrees and a lab coats. Of course there was nothing wrong with him. He told them many times.

"Hey," a female voice came from the curtain he was hiding behind, "You decent?"

"Ah, as decent as I could be given these circumstances," he replied and stood up pushing the curtain away. "Hey," he said as soon as he saw the petite officer Lisbon. His heart even skipped a beat. He wanted to thank her again yet she spoke before he could compose his words. That usually never happened - perhaps there was something wrong with him after all.

"Here´s your clothes. And shoes - I´ll be waiting in my car, - black Impala right in front of the building" she blurted out and left, leaving grinning Patrick alone - someone was feeling uncomfortable, he thought.

Patrick got dressed and thanked the medical staff before leaving - his general dislike of hospital was one thing - doing a performance was another. It was convenient to always leave a good impression. He walked outside, spying Lisbon´s car in a second.

A dog was sitting on the passenger seat - Lisbon on the driver´s seat. That left him with only one opportunity - sitting in the back seat.

He hadn´t been sitting in a back seat of a car in ages - leaving out police car, to be honest.

"Can we go?" she asked, looking irritated and Patrick smiled.

"On my way," he replied and finally sat into the black car. When Lisbon started the engine he realized it was the same noise that woke him up this morning.

"Your car is awfully loud," he said and Lisbon sighed.

"Is it? I had no idea," she replied and drove off.

* * *

The waves crashed onto the shore, sun shone, kids were screaming and Patrick was pleading. The beach was staring to be full of people who wanted to enjoy their weekend by swimming, building sand castles and sunbathing...

And Patrick still pleaded, while Lisbon glared at him angrily. He had to fight an urge to smile so bad, his face hurt.

"Just one dinner," Patrick said leaning on his blue Citroën, "I want to repay you for saving my life Lisbon, one dinner is the least I could do," he added, smiling.

Lisbon stood with her hand crossed around her chest while Rambler sat by her side.

"You don´t have to repay me anything. Anybody would did what I did, it´s fine, really," she said in the most persuasive voice she could muster.

"I beg to differ - not a lot of people who are that afraid of the ocean would do what you did. I am sincerely humbled that you fought your fear in order to save my life," Patrick said and was pleased to see Lisbon blush.

"I...I´m not that afraid," she muttered and started petting Rambler on his giant head, "how did you know, anyway...?"

"Supernatural powers, remember?"

"Yeah, right, I forgot, " she snickered.

"Very well. I can prove my powers to you one more time, if you´re interested. This is my proposition - if you agree to go on one dinner with me, I will guess your favorite restaurant and take you there. You will give me no hints, verbal or otherwise."

Lisbon smiled, intrigued. There was no way this man could guess her favorite restaurant - it was not even located in town.

"Hm, and what happens if your guess is wrong?" she asked while Rambler panted by her side, waiting patiently for these people to solve this situation.

"Well, if such a thing happens -and I know it won't - I will sincerely apologize and drive you back home, with my head bowed in shame."

Lisbon thought about it for a second. The man was so full of himself that perhaps a little shame could do him good. And it´s been ages since she have been out - not counting those nights she spent working. She eyed Mr. Jane from head to toes, thinking she could do a lot worse than him. He was...kind of attractive, in a way.

Well, really attractive, once she saw past his charlatan look. Maybe, just maybe, his guess will be right. And if it´s not, at least she will have the upper hand. She could still order a pizza and have a nice night in if his guess is wrong. A win-win situation.

"Okay, deal," she said and extended her hands towards him. Patrick took her small hand in his pleased to feel that her heart was racing.

Well, so was his, in her defense.

"I´ll pick you up at seven," he said still smiling.

"Okay," was the only thing she could come up with and before she knew it, he let go of her hand and jumped into his blue contraption. "See you soon, officer Lisbon. You too Rambler," he said before driving off.

"What a jerk," Lisbon muttered watching him leave but a smile was playing on her lips. "C´mon Rambler, we´re going home."

Rambler barked playfully, happy to be leaving finally. A good meal was awaiting him and damn he was hungry. Perhaps a bone was in order as well - he saved a life too, after all.

Lisbon opened door for him and he jumped in. He licked her face as soon as she sat down at the driver´s seat and she giggled. "You silly dog, I love you too," she said and gave him a hug. "You did good," she whispered into his fur. "I´m going to give the biggest bone there is, oh yes I will..."

Rambler whinned, happy beyond barks.

* * *

Lisbon drove home, thinking abot the night ahead when the reality hit her. Jane would pick her up at seven...how the hell did he knows where she lives?

"Huh," she muttered under her breath. Maybe he really does have supernatural powers.

In such a long time, Lisbon actually found herself feeling curious.

It was a good feeling.

Suddenly, the day just got a little better - for all of them.

* * *

 _I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you all for your feedback - I appreciate it :) And of course, thank you for reading my fics, it means a lot to me._


	3. Chapter 3

To say Lisbon was surprised was an understatement. There probably was not a word for what she felt right now.

Not only that strange man guessed her favorite burger joint without missing a heartbeat, he even prepared a blanket in the back seat in that antique and weird car of his just for Rambler - and thus made another correct assumption. Lisbon would rather not leave Rambler alone at home when it could be avoided. There were a few attempts in the past which resulted in a damaged house and neighbors complaints about noise.

Rambler knew how to be loud when he wanted to.

It just wasn´t worth it.

Since Rambler got into her life, Lisbon hasn´t been on many dates. There were not enough men who liked the fact that a giant and overprotective dog accompanied them to a date. Especially when the dog growled loudly once they tried to get inside for the so called cup of coffee.

Lisbon didn´t mind. She was not really a relationship kind of woman and living on her own had its owns perks.

But this man...

He brought a giant stuffed pig for Rambler, as a thank you for saving my life gift.

And he let him play with it through the whole ride.

Pig squeaks are entertaining until certain age and even then only for a short period of time. Listening to them for nearly an hour, driving to a burger joint which is fairly out of town, well...it would made any other man go crazy.

"Look at him go," Patrick said with a smile playing on his lip while Rambler chewed the pig with all his might.

Lisbon smiled too.

"I could take it away from him -"

"Oh, please don´t. He seems to be having so much fun."

"Of course he is. Our ears on the other hand..."

"I shall go with a soundless toy next time," he said casually and Lisbon smirked.

"Next time?" she asked and shifted a little to get a better look at him.

For a moment, a tiny almost unnoticeable moment, there was a glimpse of panic washing over his face. It disappeared as quick as it appeared. In a second.

"Well, he saved my life, too. As far as I am concerned, he should be getting a new toy every day for at least...a week," he said, completely relaxed once more.

Lisbon had to admire how fast he recovered.

"He don´t usually play with toys that much..."

"Clearly," Patrick said, raising his voice just to be heard over the squeaks coming from the back seat.

"It´s true," she proclaimed.

"Maybe you were giving him wrong type of toys, then."

"Oh, hush you," she said with a smile and the loud ride continued.

* * *

"How?" she asked, Rambler walking by her side, while Patrick led them into the Steve´s Burger Joint.

"Magic."

"Just tell me," she pleaded, while he opened the door for her and the trio walked in. Patrick took the surroundings in as fast as he could.

A busy dinner.

Most customers are just grabbing a snack during a break on the road.

Nobody cares about sanitation that much - Rambler is waved at by the waitress, which he recognizes - his tail wiggles.

There is not a one person dressed in suit but him - some of the customers are dressed in clean clothes, though.

And they are all looking at the them like they are the attraction, not the other way around. He glances at Lisbon but she seems perfectly fine with what she sees. To be honest, she seems to be relaxed for the first time he met her. Interesting.

"A good magician never reveals his secrets, Teresa,"

"I hate secrets," she mumbled while sitting down at a table she picked.

"Is that so?"

"Pretty much. I´m a cop. Secrets bugs me. Lie down Rambler, " she commanded and Rambler did as she told him. "Good boy," she muttered and petted his head.

"So, you´re a reality junkie? Trying to find the truth no matter what?"

"Oh, smooth," she smiles at his sheepish look. "No, I just don´t like secrets. That´s why I would love to know how the hell did you found out about this place?"

"It´s a simple observation," he replied calmly, watching a young waitress approach them. "Watch and learn," he muttered.

Two minutes later, after he ordered exactly what she would´ve chose, Lisbon stared at him openly.

"Care to explain how do you it finally?"

* * *

Her impatience was only overshadowed by the curiosity she was unaware of showing him. He couldn´t decide which one was funnier. He rarely explained his tricks to...well, to anyone, not to mention the countless women he on dates but...Teresa Lisbon was not like any other woman he dated.

First of all, she wasn´t even his type.

Second of all, this was not even a date.

Then again, after a short consideration of what kind of women were actually his type, Patrick came to a conclusion that perhaps a change of taste is in order.

Guessing her favorite restaurant was an easy task.

There were few receipts in her car which he spotted while she drove him from the hospital and they were all from this place. Based on the fact that most restaurants in town would have a no dog policy, Lisbon would have avoided them.

After a little research done on the internet, Patrick found this place and there, in the gallery, alongside with other ridiculous pictures of their favorite guests, Rambler was sitting on a chair with a hamburger presented in front of him.

Dogs are welcome was the caption of the image.

Easy.

The burger thing?

While she read the menu, her eyes hovered at one line longer then on the others.

He took a shot, like he always did, and as usually, it was the right one.

Calling it a magic was way more lucrative than explaining that all it´s just a mixture of well-trained observation skills and guesswork.

Yet she kept starring at him, wanting to know the truth. And for the first time in ages, Patrick Jane lowered his guard, only a little, just to see the woman in front of him smile again.

"There were three receipts from this place in your car. I looked it up on the internet and found a picture of Rambler on their site. I guessed you visit this place based on the dogs are welcomed policy as I do believe you rarely let Rambler home alone. It´s way out of town, so no one would bother you in here, only few of these people know that you are a cop and they don´t care, which you enjoy."

"Wow," she whispered, "That´s...pretty cool,"

"Cooler than magic?"

"Yeah, definitely. What about the burger you chose? It´s not even my favorite..."

"Well, I guessed you visit this place on regular basis, probably on the same day every week. You had the menu memorized, still, you read it. Or pretended to read it, it´s not really important -"

"I stared at the one longer than at the others" she guessed correctly and Patrick smiled.

"Yes. See? Not so cool anymore,"

"Actually, it is," she said with a hint of admiration in her voice. He was glad to hear that, "Where did you learn that?"

"I...uh, it´s a long story," Patrick said, not really wanting to dig up the past.

"Okay," she said and smiled. It seemed she understood his unwillingness to talk about the past pretty damn well.

Rambler, left alone under the table, was getting impatient slowly but persistently. He whined silently at first but when nobody noticed it, he rambled.

"Hey, boy. You restless?"

"Or hungry?"

Rambler lifted his head up to take a look at both persons peeking under the table. If he could speak he would have said both. The smell in this place! It´s all over. He could barely contain his drooling to a bearable level.

"Don´t worry boy, the food will be right here," Lisbon said and gave the dog a hug, as much as the table let her.

"What is he anyway?"

"What? He´s a dog -"

"I am quite aware of that fact," Patrick replied with an eye roll, "I mean what kind of breed he is?"

"Ah, yeah, right," she said and blushed a little, "I don´t really know. The pound said he is a mutt, perhaps some German shepherd mixed with -"

"The Hulk?"

"Hey...he´s not that big. Or angry. Or green for that matter."

"True," he smiled, "You saved him from a pound?"

"Yeah, but it´s a long story," she repeated his own words from before making him smile in return.

"Okay," he replied , "I think our order is coming in anyway," he said and was right as always.

"See boy? Told you it´s going to be here soon and here you go," she said as she slipped a plastic plate onto the ground and suddenly Rambler wasn´t so restless anymore.

* * *

Jane rarely had trouble concentrating on the task presented in front of him, much to it when it was just eating, but there was something about watching Lisbon munching on her own burger without the need for knife nor fork and yet she somehow managed to feed Rambler pieces of bun from time to time.

"You´re not hungry?" she asked when she saw that his plate was almost untouched.

"Actually yes, I´m just a slow eater, I like to enjoy the taste."

Lisbon shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever works for you."

"I´m taking it you´re not so much for enjoying things?"

Lisbon, currently wiping Rambler´s face with a napkin, shrugged again, "Maybe...I just don´t have that much free time."

"You don´t need free time to enjoy things, Teresa."

"Yeah, right," she smiled, "says a man who performs magic tricks for a living."

"Ah, that´s just a tip of an iceberg, so to say."

"Really?" she asked, intrigued, "What else are you doing?"

"Curious, aren´t you? Well, I have to say that mine business is well, mine, yet...maybe I would be willing to discuss it during another dinner, if you´re interested."

Lisbon blinked fast. "Another, huh?"

"Yes," he replied confidently. He grabbed another napkin from the table and used it to dab at Lisbon´s lips, brushing down a bit of barbecue sauce that was stuck there.

She blushed.

He smiled.

"Well, I, uh, I work a lot. Night shifts. You know and uh, Rambler -"

"I´m sure you have at least a one night off and I wouldn´t leave Rambler behind, now would I? He is a hero, he deserves to be treated like one."

"I...I´ll...see what I can do," she finally said, not really sure what she really wanted.

"Great, glad that´s settled. Are you in a mood for dessert? I could go with some ice cream if you´re interested."

She was.

* * *

Rambler was lying under the table, his belly full. His eyes were closing slowly, as this visit to the food place took a lot longer than it used to. He didn´t mind though. He got some ice cream, too. Not much, just a bit.

And some meat.

And a toy.

Oh, the toy!

It´s still in the car.

He wants it badly and he wants it now.

The other person, the man gave it to him. Usually, Rambler was not very fond of men, or women, well, people in general, but this man seemed to be...good. Not like his master, because she was beyond good, but good enough.

Rambler got up, as much as the table let him to, and walked to the man sitting on the chair opposite to his master.

As gently as he could, Rambler put his giant head down onto the man´s lap and whined.

* * *

"Oh, my...," Patrick said all of sudden. He stopped eating the ice cream and gave Lisbon a troubled look. She eyed him curiously, evidently surprised by his sudden strange behavior.

"What is it? Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I think Rambler just put a his head onto my lap," he said, looking a bit stiff.

"Impossible," she muttered but still looked under the table. "Rambler? What´ya doing in there?"

"He´s whining."

"Come here boy..."

Rambler whined again but obeyed the command. Maybe his master would understand him, too.

"What is it boy? Huh? You want to go outside?" Lisbon continued to talk with her head under the table. It felt odd. Kind of like she was talking to his lap, not to a dog. Patrick shook his head, trying not to think about that much.

"I think we should go outside for a little moment," she said, directing her words to Patrick.

"Oh, no problem. I´ll wait here,"

"Yeah, thanks."

* * *

Once Lisbon let him out through the door, Rambler ran to the blue car and did the unspeakable. He jumped on it, trying to take a look inside.

"Rambler! Down! You´re gonna scratch it! Oh, let me see...Good, good...it looks just...oh, damn it! You scratched it. That´s just great...What did you want from there, anyway? It´s not even out car, this is...oh." "Oh," she repeated when her sight fell on the giant stuffed pig. "That´s what you wanted, right? The pig?"

Rambler barked loudly, his tail wiggling.

"You silly, silly dog..."

"Is something wrong?" Patrick asked, giving Lisbon a tiny heart attack when he appeared by her side as stealthy as a cat. "I heard him barking, thought I might go and check on you."

Lisbon´s face was paler than before, it was literally shining in the darkness around. "Teresa, is everything okay?"

"Um, there´s been an accident..." she tried to mumble.

"What happened? Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, sure, we are fine...but..."

"But?" he asked making his way to the spot she´s been standing.

"Um, I don´t really know how to say this, but Rambler sort of scratched your car. I´m sorry, he´s -

"Where?"

"Um, here," Lisbon said and pointed at the small scratch on the back door. It was barely visible, but still, it was there. "I´ll pay you for it."

"No," he shook his head, inspecting the tiny scratch.

Sure, the car meant a world to him. He considered it as a "friend" and just the thought of the paint being scratched made his lips form a thin line, yet he couldn´t be angry at the woman with the dog while both looked like two beaten puppies.

"He wanted the pig," he said all of sudden, while his sight fell on the stuffed animal.

"Yeah..."

 _"Woof..."_

"It´s not that bad," he said finally.

"I´m so sorry,"

 _"Woof..."_

"Don´t be. It´s really not that bad."

"Ugh, he did this to mine car, too. I know how expensive the paint jobs are..."

"Don´t worry about it," Patrick said sounding sincere. He unlocked his beloved veteran, opened the door and Rambled jumped right in picking up the pig.

Seconds later, the squeaking started again.

"Think we should call it a night," Lisbon mumbled and Patrick was pleased to hear a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Perhaps."

"I should go pay the bill -"

"I already took care of that, of course," he said sounding just a little offended.

"You shouldn´t, I can pay for myself."

"Of course you can. That doesn´t mean you should. I invited you, remember?"

"Still, my dog just made you short of few hundred bucks..."

"Money is not everything, Teresa. I´ve had a pleasant evening and that is priceless, trust me."

"Okay," she muttered after a while, "let´s go home then."

"As you wish."

* * *

Patrick was lying in his hotel room, dressed in his old school blue pajamas. Yeah, they looked ridiculous, but felt damn good and that´s what counts. The room was cold and the bed kind of big for him.

And there was dog hair everywhere.

There was fur on his pants, in the back seat of his car, in his own hair...he didn´t even touch the dog yet the dog hair somehow found a way into his hotel room and his life. It seemed to be infinite.

His beloved car got scratched.

And the date ended like it wasn´t a date at all. There was no invitation for coffee or any kind of other hot or cold beverage, nor a kiss under the moonlight...nothing.

There was some vile sounding angry growling at one point, and an apologizing later.

Yet Patrick was happy.

Teresa gave him her number.

A small victory with any other woman, a giant step for Teresa.

"You´re screwed, Patrick..." he muttered to himself and shifted in his bed trying to find a comfortable sleeping position. "Absolutely and utterly screwed."

Before the sleep took over him, he send her a text saying, _Thank you for a lovely evening. Good night to you and Rambler. PJ._

Minutes later, his phone vibrated, when a response got delivered.

 _"Thank you, too. It was nice. Sorry about the car. Good night. TL and RL._

Patrick fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

Lisbon lied down, Rambler joining her in seconds. She snuggled him close, burying her face into his fur. It was a bit cold in her room and Rambler worked as a live heater countless of times before.

"Okay, you can stay here tonight," she mumbled and Rambler huffed. "I´m still angry at you though..." she said and yawned.

A squeak was his response.

The stuffed pig was still in his mouth.

"Silly doggie..."

As she was falling asleep, a thought occurred to her. The mysterious Patrick Jane had not revealed how on earth he knew where she lives. He just came to her place and took her out, and...that was it.

"Magic," she mumbled to herself, "Yeah...magic my ass..."

Her dream were full of blond curls and eyes blue as the sea.

And squeaking.

* * *

Matt Thomson was a young man with bright future ahead. He was a straight arrow, good student and a good son.

His only fault was a broken heart.

He sat down at one of benches at the school stadium with a syringe, late at night.

His eyes were full of tears and he sniffled.

Drugs. He never took them before, not even pot.

His girlfriend Tammy broke up with him two weeks ago and he had hard time dealing with it.

"This will take the edge off, Matt. I swear, I tried it myself, this shit is good," the man said and Matt believed him.

He never got up from the bench.

His body was found the next morning and nobody could do anything to help him, anymore.

And Lisbon´s phone buzzed.

* * *

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for the reviews and feedback, I do appreciate it :)


	4. Chapter 4

"I heard the unfortunate news," the man spoke with a expensive cigar in between his fingers. His sight was locked on the cigar, while another man, a much more nervous man spoke too.

"Unfortunate?! You said that your... _stuff_ is safe!"

Cigar in between fingers spoke again, this time a little annoyed, "It is, if taken responsibly. This kid evidently didn´t do what he was supposed to do."

"Really?! Now what the hell I am supposed to do -"

"You´ll do what we are paying you to do. Protect us."

"And how the hell I´m going to do that?"

"Anyway you can," cigar man spoke while a smile appeared on his face. The room in which the meeting took was dark, humid, full of stifling air and dire atmosphere. Cigar man leaned over the table, his sight leaving the cigar, his sight focusing on the man in front of him. The other man suddenly lost his breath.

"I...I can´t. There´s an investigation already and -"

"Evidence can be tampered with."

"It´s not easy like that -"

"It better be, or we have to reschedule the place of our meetings, my friend. "

"Wh..what?" the man without a cigar stuttered.

"I would really love to meet that lovely wife of yours...and your kids, too..."

"No! Leave them out of this!"

"I will. If - and only if - you´ll do your job. Do you understand?" he asked, puffing smoke into the other´s man face.

He coughed, being a non smoker all his life and nodded, all while fear seeped deeper and deeper into his mind. What has he gotten himself into?

"Good," cigar man added and stood up, leaving a blank envelope behind. "Same time next week, I´ll text you the place."

"Sure," came a silent mutter.

Shaken and desperate, the man gathered all what´s was left of his self-control and stood up too, picking up the blank envelope filled with paper happiness.

Despite its weight, he didn´t feel much happy, not anymore.

* * *

Rambler´s eyes were fixated on the tiny person lying under at least two blankets. The person was snoring as well, not much, but enough to wake him up. The sun was already out. He could hear birds chirping, cars running, people talking and his master still slept.

He himself was kind of tired. It had been a long night. His usual routine was disrupted. He felt bad. Slowly, he got up on all four and sneaked to master´s bed, inch by inch. When he was just the right distance away, he jumped, stomped the remaining blanked down a bit and laid down with a huff.

Suddenly, a hand appeared out of nowhere, and started petting his giant head.

He didn´t mind.

The snoring stopped as well.

To him, it was a win-win situation.

"We´re sleeping in today buddy," master said in a muffled voice. He couldn´t understand those words, obviously, yet he understood the tone.

So, instead of his usual morning routine of waking Lisbon up, Rambler closed his brown eyes and let the petting lull him back into sleep.

Some hours and one impatient dog later, Teresa Lisbon was forced to wake up eventually.

"Okay, okay...let me just grab a shower, will you? Good boy..."

Shower was not the only thing she desperately needed, but it was all she got.

Coffee would be nice as well.

And perhaps some late breakfast.

And that damned case.

But no, all she was given were another nightshifts and a promise. A promise saying that she´ll lead the next big investigation. She focused solemnly on the shower and hot water running down her body for now. Not that it would cure her gloomy mood, still it felt nice. Once she emerged from the bathroom, dressed in comfortable clothes, Rambler whined loudly.

He was already sitting in front of the main door, a leash in his mouth.

"All right...I´m going, you impatient little monster..."

* * *

Patrick Jane spent his day in a park. Well, not his whole day, yet a considerable amount of it. He kept telling himself it was just to keep him busy. Entertained. And it´s never too good to get out of a practice.

He performed for free, spoke to few possible marks, and all in all just waited patiently for someone to arrive.

Someone with a giant dog and a suspicious glare.

It´s been a week since their "date" and she has been working every single day. Or at least that´s what she told him.

Patrick believed her.

He have heard about the death of a young man.

Sad news.

And a case.

He was just performing some of his card tricks when the woman he´d been waiting for entered the park, accompanied by a dog, wearing all black clothes and a gloomy expression.

Ah, Patrick thought. She didn´t get the case. Or any sleep for that matter.

Rambler seemed to be fine, at least.

He watched her for a while, with his periphery vision, as she threw the ball for the ecstatic dog. She wasn´t that much ecstatic. Maybe he could be the remedy for that.

"Okay, guys, this is it for today, thank you for the attention and hopefully, I´ll see you tomorrow," he proclaimed cheerfully when a soundly protest followed. He smiled and bowed down when a someone asked "Will you be here tomorrow?"

"I sure will."

"Okay," the kid replied and the whole crowd somehow blended into the park.

"You sure do know how to entertain," someone said.

Patrick turned around, smiling profoundly.

"And good day to you too, Teresa."

"What´s so good about it?" she asked grumpily when Rambler ran back to her, holding a slimy, old ball in his mouth. She took it from him, not even minding the ball´s state and threw it once more.

Rambler was gone in an instance.

"I suppose it´s not a good day for everyone. I heard about the death of a young man."

"Yeah," she replied and Rambler was back.

There was not just the ball in his mouth. Somehow, he managed to fit a giant branch in there, too.

"Well, look at him, he´s multitasking," Patrick said with a smile.

"Oh, you..." Lisbon muttered, taking both the ball on the stick.

"Do you mind if I tried it once? It looks like fun."

Lisbon gave him a funny look. She handed him the slimy ball with a smile. "Sure, go ahead."

He did as she told him and threw the ball.

Yet Rambler stood where he was, looking into distance.

"Go get it boy," Patrick said.

Rambler did nothing. His eyes fell on his master.

Lisbon smirked.

"Rambler, go get the ball," she said amusingly and they both watched the dog ran off in a hurry. He was back seconds later, presenting the ball to Lisbon.

"Good boy...yeah, you are. Want the ball? You do, don´t you? Go get it!"

And Rambler was gone once again.

"I have one question," Patrick said suddenly.

"Yeah? And what´s that?"

"Why?"

"You´re not his master," she said with a wink.

"Interesting. Do you fancy some coffee? You look like you could use a cup."

* * *

Half an hour later, Lisbon sipped on hot black coffee, no cream, no sugar. She didn´t even bothered asking him how he knew how she likes her coffee.

Patrick was evidently more fond of tea than of coffee.

And muffins, too.

Rambler was fond of anything she presented him. One blueberry muffin went right into his giant mouth.

"That´s enough," she told him, while sitting outside on a comfortable little chair, under a giant umbrella, at a tiny tea house. She lived in this town over two years and never had visited this place.

"It seems that he disagrees," Jane chuckled.

"You can´t have anymore," Lisbon said, petting him on head, "There´s too much sugar in it..."

"So, how you´ve been?" Patrick asked innocently, trying to get a little of Lisbon´s attention for himself.

"Fine, you?"

Jane leaned in his chair. They weren´t getting anywhere.

"I should go," he said all of sudden.

Lisbon glanced at him. "What, why? We just got here..."

"You just said you were fine, even though it is evident that you are far, far away from fine. I assume you´re too lost in your thoughts for having a proper conversation or you´re just not interested. Either way, I am screwed. And I don´t like wasting time. Mine, or yours for that matter."

She let out a small sigh. "Sorry."

"It´s okay."

"It´s been a long week..." she said, sipping on her coffee.

"That´s understandable."

"Can you start over?" she asked, stroking Rambler behind his ears.

"Very well," he said smiling, "so, how you´ve been?"

* * *

Patrick walked Lisbon and Rambler home, while she spoke about how her place being a mess due to lack of time to do, well, anything, how the nightshifts are turning her into a zombie, how Rambler´s sleeping patterns are so different to hers and ended her own ramblings on how the damn drain clogged again.

"The landlord promised to come and fix it two days ago, but nobody showed up yet," she said with an adorable little huff.

"I can take a look at it, if you want me to," he said innocently.

"Really? You?"

"What´s with the surprised tone?"

"It´s just...you don´t look like that kind of a man -"

"Who could fix things?"

"Well..." she muttered, looking him up and down.

He smiled. "I´m a man of many talents," he replied.

"I´m sure you are," she muttered trying to hide her smile.

* * *

Lisbon unlocked the door her tiny place, letting Rambler and Patrick in. Jane had to smile upon entering. Of course she exaggerated. The place was not such a mess. Sure, there were dog toys lying on the ground, a giant rubber bone peeking from under the couch and a bit of dog fur here and there, but otherwise the place was okay.

No photos of family anywhere, no photos of Rambler...no photos at all. There was a painting of sunflowers on the wall, most likely from the last tenants. There was a blanket on the couch, probably for Rambler. The kitchen was a bit more messy due to the clogged drain. Few dirty plates were sitting in the sink and the place could use a vacuum cleaner - the drain was not to blame for this, Rambler was. His fur was everywhere, but it was more visible on the kitchen tiles.

One dirty cup with coffee stains was placed on the dishwasher.

Apart from that, the place looked just fine.

Yet, she was blushing like crazy.

"I know, it´s a mayhem in here..." she said and sighed.

"It´s fine. Don´t worry about it. Do you have any tools I could use?"

Lisbon nodded. "Yeah, be right back."

* * *

Two hours later, two hours spent trying to get a ball of fur out of a tiny tube, during which Lisbon lost her mind twice, Patrick had a laughing fit and Rambler chewed up a giant bone, the drain was finally unclogged.

The ball of fur was properly disposed and the dirty plates washed.

"I´m going to shave him, I swear to God," Lisbon muttered, putting clean plates into the cupboard.

"Don´t. He´ll look ridiculous," Jane replied, drying his hands with paper towel.

"I guess. Still, it might be worth it."

Rambler looked up from his bone with a suspicious look.

"I think he´s onto you," Jane smiled.

Lisbon smiled. "Don´t worry doggie, you´re safe."

* * *

"Might if I ask you something?" Patrick asked Lisbon during the walk to his motel. She offered to accompany him and he gladly agreed.

"Go ahead," she replied, visibly relaxed and a lot calmer than an hour ago.

"I was wondering how did you and Rambler met?"

"Well, I met him at a bar one night and we kind of hit it off..."

"Ha-ha."

"Sorry. It´s just the way you asked..."

"Let me rephrase then. Where did you got him?"

Lisbon chuckled remembering the day she saw the mangy thing Rambler used to be for the first time.

"A friend I know volunteers at dog pound and she kind of introduced us to each other. He was, well, not the type of dog anyone could just take home. He was aggressive, bad tempered, untrained...and the pound was thinking about putting him down. They thought it would be better for everyone."

"You stepped in."

"Yeah. Arrived there, saw him and took him home. "

Jane nodded. He spotted those tiny scars on her hands while she washed plates. Guess Rambler wasn´t always such a good boy.

"He wasn´t like this when you got him, I assume?," he stated.

Lisbon smirked, remembering those interesting times. Times when she was afraid to enter her own house. Times when Rambler had to be sedated in order to get a nuzzle on him. Or times he had to be leashed while she wanted to put food into his bowl. Or take it, for that matter.

"He bit me several times. Two different dog behavioral specialists told me to get rid of him. I didn´t. "

"Obviously. But you thought about it."

Lisbon frowned while she watched Rambler strode a little ahead of them, with his tongue flying from side to side. She sighed. Shamefully, she added, "I did."

Patrick nodded, understanding her intentions. "What made you change your mind?"

She didn´t even thought about her answer.

"Where would he go? No one would take him. A giant aggressive black dog? He would be put down eventually. I didn´t want that. And..."

"Yes?" Patrick asked, sensing that whatever she was going to say, he will be the first one to hear it.

"Well, um this might sound a little weird but... I had a flu few weeks after I took him home. It was the worst flu I had ever experienced in my whole life. I remember shivering so badly my teeth chattered. That nigh Rambler jumped on my bed and I had no power left to push him down. So...I let him stay. And, in the middle of the night, I took of his nuzzle because he kept punching me with it. I woke up in the morning, still sick but alive, and hadn´t used the nuzzle since. There was no need to. "

"Trust," Patrick said.

"Huh?"

"Trust, Teresa. Sometimes all you need is someone to trust you."

Lisbon thought about it for a moment. It sure made a some kind of sense.

"I guess."

The walk continued in silence. Not the weird type when people need to say something just to make the silence go away. The peaceful kind. Patrick watched Rambler strode in front of them happily, occasionally sniffing something on the ground that he found worth sniffing.

The sun was already half way hidden behind tree tops, the breeze was calm and warm and Patrick had a sudden need to take Lisbon´s hand is his and walk side by side with her, just like that.

He didn´t though.

It if was any other woman, his hand would be already over her shoulders.

He knew that it wouldn´t work with Teresa Lisbon.

They reached his hotel in silence and said their goodbyes after Lisbon thanked him again for the help provided.

"I´ll call you," he called after her before walking inside with a smile.

"Okay," she replied with an eye roll, but deep down, she felt content.

She went home with weird feeling in her stomach.

Rambler had a weird feeling in his stomach, too.

It sure wasn´t butterflies like in Lisbon´s case, he was just hungry.

He increased his pace, ready for his dinner.

"Hey, wait up buddy!" Lisbon called after him and they both jogged home unaware of a man stalking them from the safety of his car.

* * *

 _So, I know this is probably not very good, as I´m lacking time to write. And I do know my English is not really that advanced and some of the sentences are probably messed up...I´m trying to improve that, but it is a slow process. Still, thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter :)_


	5. Chapter 5

"Lisbon, I specifically told you not to investigate the Matt Thomson case. And what did you do?"

Lisbon sighed. "I did not investigate anything. I just spoke to Matt´s mom, that´s all. You have to understand that a mother had lost a son. She´s -"

"Let me assure you that I am capable of understanding what is the family going through. Yet your actions are highly unprofessional. Other officers are taking care of the case, they already confirmed that Matt Thomson committed a suicide."

"I know that. But -"

Sheriff banged his fist against the giant wooden table.

"I´ve had it enough with you and your buts. You were given a direct order, damn it! If you are not capable of following one perhaps it would be better to think about a career change!"

Lisbon blinked fast. Rambled, laying under the table, growled silently.

"I...I...it won't happen again, sir."

"Good. Now we are talking!"

Lisbon looked down on her shoes. Her own gut was screaming that those two idiots investigating the death of Matt Thomson were wrong. It was highly unlikely that such a promising young and full of life boy would commit suicide over a broken heart. It just did not made any sense.

"You are giving the family a false hope, Teresa," the Sheriff spoke silently now, "It´s the last thing they need now. What they need is a closure. So they could start grieving and coping with what had happened. I know you spoke to Mrs. Thomson on a several occasions and you know why I know that?"

"No," she replied silently, anger bubbling inside of her.

"She kept calling me. She even visited me, at my home, pleading and crying to re-open the investigation. Do you think that is what the poor woman deserves?"

Lisbon fist turned white from gripping the edge of the chair.

"She deserves the truth. And with all due respect, I am not sure if that is what we are giving her."

Sheriff sighed. Loudly.

"He overdosed on drugs -"

"Who sell it to him? What are we unaware of? Are here people selling dangerous drugs around that we have no idea about? Where the hell do you think he got them?"

Sheriff closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. "He got them during his spring break, while on vacation. Do you really think that this place, in this forsaken small town where the most brutal thing that ever happened was a pack of stray dogs attacking the visitors of New Year´s Eve Parade, that somewhere in here is someone running a secret drug ring that we are unaware of? For God´ sake! Let the boy rest in peace. It´s the best you can do. Hell, it´s the only thing you can do, or you will face the consequences. Are we clear?"

Lisbon remained silent.

"Are. We. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"You´re suspended for a week. No pay. Go home, walk that damned dog of yours, clear you head and come back next Monday without those stupid ideas of yours."

She wanted to argue but just one look at Sheriff face made her stop. So, instead of raising her opinion once more, she stood up, followed by Rambler and left the office. There was a lot of staring during her walk through their little station.

Higgs and Randolph were snickering when she walked past them.

She tried to ignore them, after being yelled at for unprofessionalism. Like that was professional in any way...

"Hey, Saint Teresa, where are you going? Ready to take down a drug ring? Fight some mobsters?"

Lisbon stopped walking. So did Rambler.

"A kid died Randolph. It is not a laughing matter."

"Whatever," he shuddered. She glared at him and his smile faded. He cleared his throat hastily. Lisbon turned her head away, commanded Rambler to follow her and left the station in a unimaginably crummy mood.

The sun was shining like almost every day during the year, yet she felt like it was raining. Just above her, and nowhere else.

"Damn it," she muttered and kicked some tiny rock which was in her way.

It wasn´t her day.

The rock flew for few meters, hitting her Impala, leaving a tiny mark.

"Oh...f -...fudge," she corrected herself when a group of under aged kids ran out from of a corner. They were laughing, carefree and happy. She wished she could feel that way, too.

"That´s a big dog!" one of them yelled, "Can I pet him?"

Lisbon eyed them, seeing their enthusiasm. Rambler was never good with strangers petting him, but sometimes, occasionally, he could wait for a few minutes before he hid behind master. Mostly when kids were involved.

"Sure, but not on his head. Like this," she motioned the kids hand behind Rambler´s ears.

Rambler lifted his giant head looking into Lisbon´s eyes for instruction. She smiled and nodded.

If he could, he would definitely roll his eyes at her.

"What´s his name?" A little blond girl asked, scratching Rambler´s giant ears.

"Rambler," Lisbon said and the kids laughed.

"Silly name."

"Yeah. Perhaps."

Rambler whined.

"Oh. He´s sad."

"No, he´s just hungry. We are on our way home."

"We are on our way to see Patrick!" the little girl announced and all of the kids nodded.

"Patrick, huh?"

"Yeaaah, he´s a magician! He can do cool card tricks -"

"He took a penny out of my ear. I had no idea it was stuck there," one of the boys stated and showed Lisbon the penny. "See?"

"Yeah, amazing."

"Let´s go, Tony!"

The kids lost their interest in Rambler pretty fast. He stopped whining immediately.

"Bye Miss!"

"Bye kids, be safe," she called after them as they run down the streets, laughing, making their way into park.

Lisbon gave Rambler a wistful look. Those happy kids and mention of a certain magician lifted up her spirit a little.

"Ready to go home?"

Rambler barked. He was ready to go home.

* * *

Patrick Jane was restless. Usually, he spent a few days in a new environment, leeched a few marks, earned some easy money, broke a heart or two upon leaving, and packed his things, ready for something new.

Not this time.

This town was indeed boring. He performed on few birthday´s parties, earned some small unimportant amount of money. Other than that, there was not much to do. No tragedies, except for Matt Thomson, which he didn´t dare to touch. He had a strong feeling that a certain police officer would not approve of it. Usually, he couldn´t care less.

Not this time.

It seemed that time and rest of the world has forgotten about this particular place and it was living on its own dull way. If it was any other town, he would´ve left days ago.

Except for the beach and the sea, there was really not much going on.

Well, to be honest, the beach and sea could go to hell as well. The only thing that kept him at this location was a Teresa Lisbon. It´s been days since they´ve been together.

He called her, a couple of times actually, and there were always the same excuses. Work, work and then some more work. He was starting to get a little upset about it. Any other woman would be all over him.

Not Teresa.

Evidently.

She kept her distance. Even when they were together, he could feel her guards being build up high and he was not able to penetrate them.

It bugged him.

More than he could admit.

"She´s not even your type," he muttered to himself over and over every time she declined his invitation to go on a "date". However, there was something about her that he couldn´t find in any other woman he had met, period.

And he met a lot of women.

 _A lot._

"Damn it, Patrick," he whispered to himself once again after spending two hours at the park, waiting for a brown haired woman and her dog to enter.

They didn´t.

* * *

Lisbon got home soon. Sooner than she was used to. Even Rambler was a little upset about it. He jumped on the couch, giving her a puzzled look.

"Let´s get you something to eat, what do you say?"

He couldn´t argue. Not just because he was a dog. He was a dog that loved to eat all the time. Lisbon was positive he could eat himself to death. It was quite concerning. She had to hide his food as he was frequently trying to feed himself. Perhaps it had something to do with his previous life and the lack of food.

She made him unsalted meat with some mixed vegetables which said a lot about her own social life. Cooking for a dog, making sure he eats his vegetables...

She chuckled as she watched him chomp the food down.

She was eating an over a day old take-out. Most of the taste was gone, but she was never wasteful. Throwing away a perfectly fine lunch just because it became a little, well, _gross_ , was never her thing.

She spent the rest of her days tidying and cleaning the place up. Rambler watched her from his own dog bed, then from her bedroom bed and in the end, from her couch.

She ended up sitting on the couch beside him, sweaty and covered in dog hair, satisfied with her work. The place finally looked livable. Sure, it will probably stay this way for no more than two days but it was worth it.

It helped her to take Matt of off her mind for a while.

Suddenly, Rambler made a weird sound. He squeaked. Lisbon nearly fell of off the couch upon hearing that sound.

"Rambler! Don´t scare me like that..." she muttered, turning to see what was that in his mouth.

A pink stuffed pig.

Her lips quirked up a bit, absolutely involuntarily.

"Oh, well...the pig, huh?"

The toy squeaked again.

Lisbon shifted a little, watching her dog play with the only toy he considered playable. Her mind went to the magician which all those kids went to see. She sighed.

She´s been avoiding him for a while, however, it wasn´t an intention. She was caught up with the case and Matt and his mother, so Patrick Jane has been forgotten for a while.

She felt kind of bad about it.

"What do you think boy? Shall I give him a call?"

Rambler looked up at her, his tail waggling.

That was good enough for her.

* * *

Patrick was walking to his motel when his phone buzzed.

Could it be?

He fished his phone out of the pocket of his vest, and smiled upon seeing the caller ID.

"Well hello there Lisbon, what a pleasant surprise..."

* * *

The man with the cigar sat down.

"I do believe you´ve dealt with our little _problem_ already?"

The other man had learned to hate the Cigar man over the time. He was a brute. No conscience. No empathy. No remorse.

Just greed.

And an unhealthy addiction to cigars.

"Yes," the other man, sweating profoundly, replied. It wasn´t just the heat in the room that made his pores go crazy.

The nervousness.

Fear.

And shame.

It all added to the reasons of his excessive sweating.

"May I ask how?"

The man shifted in the hard wooden chair.

"She´s been suspended. I threatened to end her career if she continues with that... _nonsense_. She´s young. Naive. Don´t worry about her anymore."

"Uhm...that´s very interesting. You want to know why?"

The other man swallowed hard, "Y-yes?"

"One of my men followed her the other day. And some days before. She went to see that poor mother again, filling her head with nonsense. I do not care about that much...it is not affecting our sales...yet. The thing that bugs me is your inability to control your own men. Or women, for that matter."

"I told you it´s taken care of. I´ve dealt with her today personally, and made myself quite clear. Trust me, she won´t sniff around anymore."

The Cigar man puffed out a cloud of smoke.

Sheriff coughed.

"She better not, it would be a terrible shame if something...unexpected happened to her, don´t you think?"

"Wait -"

"My dear friend. I thought that we do understand each other. I do not like fucking around," the Cigar man proclaimed, emphasizing each word in the process.

"Here´s your provision. We are keeping a close eye on you and your men, just so you know. You have all the information about the next shipment in the envelope...make sure the area would be as empty as a bird nest in December."

"S-sure. Yeah. I will."

"Great. Now, beat it. I do not like that rotten garlic smell of yours...maybe you should take a shower from time to time, what do you say?"

Sheriff blinked hard.

"Yes," he replied because there wasn´t anything else to say that wouldn´t get him hurt.

"Go."

He run outside with the envelope in his hands.

This whole operation seemed to be less worthy day after day.

* * *

 _"I was wondering if you have time to, uh, I don´t know, hang out? I mean, I am going to walk Rambler soon -"_

"Sure thing," Patrick replied with a smile, changing his direction, "I´ll be glad to accompany you, but there is one question lingering at the back of my mind...?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"Well, a few days later you claimed to be working all week long and -"

He could hear her sigh.

"Lisbon?"

 _"I was suspended."_

"Suspended? You?"

 _"Yeah,"_ she replied, anger evident in her words.

"Oh, I _so_ do need to hear this..." he said, making his way to Lisbon´s place.

 _"Just make fun of me, and I let Rambler walk you instead_ ," she muttered and he chuckled.

"I am not making fun of you, Teresa. I am genuinely curious what is the reason behind suspending the greatest and most hard-working Officer this town has."

The other line went silent for a while.

" _I seriously have no idea on how to respond to that_ ," she muttered.

"Too much?" Patrick asked grinning.

 _"Yeah. I´m leaving in about half an hour -"_

"I´ll be waiting for you. See you later."

 _"Yeah, you too."_

The line went silent.

And the day for Patrick Jane changed for the better.

Much, much better.

* * *

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it :) Next chapter will be longer, with much more plot, I promise. See you later :)


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